Sumiko Inaba gets homecoming booking at Bellator 279 in Hawaii

Sumiko Inaba has a home-state bout booked.

One of the handful of fighters who proudly represent Hawaii on the promotion’s roster, Inaba (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will fight in her home state on April 23 at Bellator 279 when she battles Whittany Pyles (3-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a promotion official Tuesday informed MMA Junkie.

Bellator 279 takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie. The event serves as the second leg of a two-night doubleheader for the promotion in the same venue.

Inaba, 31, has yet to lose in three professional bouts following a 5-1 amateur career. With all of her professional fights under the Bellator umbrella, Inaba has maintained a 100 percent finishing rate with wins over Randi Field, Kristina Katsikis, and Jessica Ruiz.

Pyles, 30, has competed for various regional promotions including CFFC, Ring of Combat, and most recently LFA, where she picked up a unanimous decision win over Lisa Mauldin. She enters Bellator 279 on a two-fight winning streak.

With the addition, the Bellator 279 lineup includes:

• Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots – for interim bantamweight title, grand prix quarterfinal
• Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe – for featherweight title
• Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Patchy Mix – bantamweight grand prix quarterfinal
• Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Justine Kish
• Yancy Medeiros vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
• Justin Gonzales vs. Kai Kamaka III
• Janay Harding vs. Dayana Silva
• Nainoa Dung vs. Lance Gibson Jr.
• Levan Chokheli vs. Goiti Yamauchi
• Keoni Diggs vs. Bobby King
• Sumiko Inaba vs. Whittany Pyles
• Randi Field vs. Maraya Miller